A visionary whose writing broke through the boundaries of the science-fiction genre, Philip K. Dick is regarded as a major figure of twentieth-century fiction. In 2007, he became the first science-fiction writer to be included in the Library of America Series. This collection of nine of his outstanding shorter works includes such classics as "Autofac," "Progeny," "The Exit Door Leads In," "A Little Something for Us Tempunauts," "The Last of the Masters," "The Preserving Machine," "Novelty Act," "The War with the Fnools," and "The Electric Ant." Set in various dystopian futures, these stories explore such themes as time travel, artificial-alien intelligence, authority, knowledge and the use or control of it, memory, and the frighteningly malleable nature of what we call "reality."

PHILIP KINDRED DICK (1928-1982) was a writer of extraordinary vision and imagination whose works reflected a strong interest in theology, philosophy, metaphysics, and speculative political states. In his works, which he drew from his own experiences of altered states and paranoia and mystical reveries, the individual is often pitted against the authoritarian governments or monopolistic corporations. In addition to his dozens of published novels, he wrote approximately 121 short stories, many of which appeared in science-fiction magazines. At least eight of his stories have been adapted for film.